Taiwan ranked 16th in this year’s global talent ranking by the International Institute for Management Development, climbing four spots from last year on the back of better employment training and initatives to attract foreign professionals, the Switzerland-based group said yesterday.
The survey compared the performance of 64 economies worldwide with regard to talent investment and development, appeal and readiness, the institute said.
Switzerland topped the list for the fifth straight year.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, Reuters
The survey showed that employees are more motivated in more competitive economies, the institute said, attributing the trend in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sweden ranked second, followed by Luxembourg, Norway and Denmark.
The National Development Council, which provided the data for Taiwan, said that the nation improved its ranking on the back of higher scores in the talent investment and development gauges, as it improved its ability to attract and retain talent.
Over the past two years, foreign professionals and overseas Taiwanese talent have increasingly opted for Taiwan, where COVID-19 had limited effect on daily lives, foreign trade groups said.
However, this advantage might abate if Taiwan keeps its tight COVID-19 curbs in place while most of the world loosens restrictions, the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan said, adding that strict border controls and quarantine requirements pose challenges for internationally operating firms.
Taiwan’s ability to connect with the world lifts its global competitiveness and presence, despite its COVID-19 strategy risking to isolate the country, the trade group said.
Regionally, Taiwan ranked third, behind 11th-ranked Hong Kong and 12th-ranked Singapore, the institute said.
South Korea ranked 34th, and China ranked 39th, it said.
Taiwan’s score was boosted by substantial improvements in its apprenticeship system and valuation of employee training, the institute said, adding that the nation ranked seventh and fifth on the respective sub-indices.
The council said that the government has tried hard to build bridges between educational institutions and the private sector.
However, Taiwan has a lot of room for improvement in public education spending, ranking 50th in the survey and losing five spots since last year, the council said.
The government has earmarked NT$15 billion (US$541.32 million) for a special program to upgrade digital infrastructure at schools and is planning to spend another NT$20 billion on Internet applications at elementary and junior high schools, the council said.
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
STILL LOADED: Last year’s richest person, Quanta Computer Inc chairman Barry Lam, dropped to second place despite an 8 percent increase in his wealth to US$12.6 billion Staff writer, with CNA Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) and Richard Tsai (蔡明興), the brothers who run Fubon Group (富邦集團), topped the Forbes list of Taiwan’s 50 richest people this year, released on Wednesday in New York. The magazine said that a stronger New Taiwan dollar pushed the combined wealth of Taiwan’s 50 richest people up 13 percent, from US$174 billion to US$197 billion, with 36 of the people on the list seeing their wealth increase. That came as Taiwan’s economy grew 4.6 percent last year, its fastest pace in three years, driven by the strong performance of the semiconductor industry, the magazine said. The Tsai
RSS